


Murder In Nordland

by bridge2X



Category: Ylvis
Genre: Agatha Christie kind of story, Criminal Story, Murder, Other, back in the days of 1965, brofeels, find-the-murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:30:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bridge2X/pseuds/bridge2X
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tried to create a little Murder-Mystery, getting inspired by stories Agatha Christie could have written. It's settled in 1965 not only because I found it charming but because you can't play Miss Marple with cellphones, Internet and credit cards, that just doesn't work out! Nevertheless they are still Ylvis, things are still very similar to how they are nowadays ...just they wake up one morning finding themselves in the worst kind of trouble, stuck way up north in the countryside...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> People of Nordland, I apologize! But- come on- some just HAD to be the blockheads! And it's fifty years ago anyway...

From a deep sea of darkness he crawled back to the surface but it didn't do any good.  
First thing he felt was this unbearable pain behind his eyes and a sudden nausea as he moved his head. Slowly he tried to figure out where he was and why...or at least who? His limbs were ice-cold and numb as if he had been laying in the same position for a while then and the ground beneath his cheek felt hard and rough.  
He tried to open his eyes but even the dim light surrounding him was too bright to be tolerated. With effort he pulled out his left arm from underneath his body and pressed the cold palm of a hand that not quite felt like his own against his right eyeball to ease the pain behind it.  
Then he carefully rolled from his stomach to the side and propped himself up on his elbow. The nausea got worse so he stopped moving again but he had to find out what had happened.  
When the brightness coming from somewhere above him didn't feel like sparing his eyes anymore he let his hand drop to the ground and finally took a blurred look at the setting. It was outdoors, a backyard or an alley for he noticed a few dustbins, a dirty lamp over a door to the right of him was spreading some light on the scenery.  
What was he doing here? His fingers were touching something wet on the ground, a puddle. He lowered his view to find the cause but what he found was more irritating than anything.  
And then he saw the thing. It was no more than half a meter away laying on the asphalt and capturing all of his sight. For a few seconds his brain refused to give information of what it was but then the knowledge hit him like a hammer and he opened his mouth to scream.  
Fighting with hands and feet he tried to bring some distance between him and that horrible sight but the wetness on the ground made him slip. The violent shot of adrenaline in his system awoke him enough to realize that he was still screaming but without giving any sound. His throat felt dry and sore and he was desperately running out of breath. He understood why - he was hyperventilating, still he could not make himself stop. This thing in front of him was taking all of his capacity. The slow overload of oxygen and the evil pain in his head that had become even worse made him dizzy again. His wet hands slipped once more, his temple hit the asphalt and darkness dragged him back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just out of interest ... before you continue with the first part - make a guess in the comments which brother is this happening to! (I'd like to see if my thoughts shine through my writing) Thank you!


	2. part l

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has no real chapters but is written along a timeline. I will separate it into multiple parts though to make navigation more easy.

Thurs, May 16th 1965, 07:47, Bjerkvik, Nordland, the police station

When Vegard awoke next time he was laying on his back. The underground was a tad less hard than before and the light was grey.  
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a small, empty room with whitewashed walls. The fact that one of them were of iron bars led to the conclusion that he was laying in a prison cell. What the hell had happened the previous night?  
He sat up laboriously and immediately rested his head on his hands with a deep moan. The movement had caused a pain behind his forehead he had not been prepared for and for a moment he struggled hard not to vomit. Could it be possible he drank that much the night before that he couldn't even remember how - or more important - why he got here? There had been this bar and he remembered two or three cocktails people had bought him…  
On his temple there was an aching bulge as Vegard found out with a sharp hiss. That might be an explanation. He just hoped he hadn't started a fight or made any worse trouble to be put into a cell!  
He stood up and tapped on insecure feet to the grid to inspect the small aisle in front of it. It was short and empty but through the closed, grey door on its left end he could hear voices.

"Hallo?" he tried to call but it was no more than a rasp that left his throat.

Disgusted he began to collect some saliva to wet his dry mouth and forced his larynx to form a few tones.  
The second try was more successful. "Hallo?"

The voices behind the door muted so he added "Is someone there?" Right then he couldn't think of anything better to call.  
After a few seconds the door opened and two police officers entered the aisle, one quite young, almost a kid, the other one in his fifties. They stopped when they saw him standing at the grid and exchanged a pregnant look. Then the younger one walked over to him with a knowing smile but kept a certain distance to the bars.  
Vegard forced his face into a frown that should imitate a smile and took a step back.

"Good morning!" he cawed.

"Well, well, well... now look who's awake!" the policeman said in a mocking tone. "Good morning, Mr. Ylvisåker!"

"What am I doing here?" Vegard asked, rubbing his face "I hope I didn't get myself into trouble!"

"Trouble? Trouble is not what I would call it!" The younger man straightened his shoulders and raised his chin as if he was proud of what he was going to state "We arrested you for the murder of Marit Johansen!'

"What?" Vegard let his hands drop and stared at the man with a blank expression.

The other officer stepped over to his colleague and leaned forward discretely. "You can't call it murder! We have to prove intent to do that..." he whispered so loud that Vegard was wondering why he didn't say it aloud anyway.

The younger man blushed slightly. "...for killing Marit Johansen! ...we arrested you!" he said with a firm voice, accompanied by an emphatic nod of the older.

"No! I... what? Who the hell is Marit Johansen and why do you suspect me ..?" Vegard asked more confused than concerned. He was not quite sure if he was actually awake or just dreaming this.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ylvisåker that you obviously don't remember but we caught you red handed, literally..." the older officer now said , raised one of his hands and waved it a little as if to demonstrate how literally his statement had to be taken.

Vegard looked down on his own hands instinctively and his eyes widened in shock. His fingers and palms were covered with brown, smudged stains.  
Someone evidently had tried to clear them up cursorily but between his fingers, around his nails and in all deeper grooves of the skin were reminders of what clearly was dried blood. Even the sleeves of his dark pullover were full of it.  
Staring down on this surprising sight, pictures appeared in his mind, flashing images,  
memories of a dark alley, of blood underneath his hands on the ground, of a face, a white, scary face with broken eyes and a wide open mouth…

With a sharp gasp Vegard hid his hands underneath his armpits and leaned his back against the wall to support his suddenly so weak knees. The policemen observed him minutely, how his gaze was running through the room rushed while he was trying to get any sense into these pictures coming to him.

"I... I don't know her!" he murmured after a while "Why should I...? I don't know her!"

"So you remember being there, where we found you?" the younger officer asked and took a notebook and a pencil out of the pocket of his jacket.

"Sort of..." Vegard replied "I remember that I woke up and she was lying there, next to me... But I have no idea how I got there or what might have happened to that girl!"

The young man took his time to write down every of Vegard's words precisely before he continued "But you say you didn't know her?"

"I think I remember seeing her at the bar earlier that night...I think she talked to me but..."

"Aha, aha..." the officer hummed satisfied while writing down his words and it hit Vegard with a sudden clearness that he may be in serious trouble and he'd better stop sharing his memories.  
He went over to the narrow bed in the back of the cell and sat down with legs closed and back straight.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I can tell you any more about this night. Is there a possibility that I may call a lawyer?" he asked as firmly as he was able to.

The officer lowered his notebook and raised his eyebrows surprised. "A lawyer?"  
He turned around to his colleague and gazed at him questioningly. The older man scratched the back of his head and thought about it for a moment. Obviously they weren't prepared for that kind  
of a question. Vegard hardly doubted that they ever had had to deal with anything more serious than a housebreaking.

"Well, we have a lawyer here in Bjerkvik, Dr. Rune, but he already left for the holiday to meet his family. I guess you can find one in Narvik from the telephone book but I don't think you will be more successful with that. Not today. You probably have to wait until Monday. Beside that we don't have a telephone book at the office right now. Hanssen came the other day to borrow it and he never brings stuff back!"

Vegard bit his lips and clinched his hands on his knees. "My brother! Is it possible to call my brother at least?" he asked with a sigh. The sudden thought of Bård coming and get him out of this was like lightning a small candlelight in the dark of his desperate mind. He looked at the two policemen at the aisle with rising hope.

"Sure, we can do that!" the younger man said with a certain disappointment in his voice and put the notebook back into his jacket. "Don't do anything stupid meanwhile!" he added unnecessarily.  
The older one nodded at Vegard's direction and patted the other one's shoulder while they turned around and left.

"Well done, Svensen! Just as you prepared!" Vegard could hear him mumble.

He let himself fall to his side and curled up on the mattress. He would just lay there and wait. Everything would become fine again.

 

 

Thurs, May 16th, 10:11, Bjerkvik Seaside Hotel

  
Bård stepped out the shower and grabbed a towel to clean the mirror from the steam that had condensed on it before he wrapped it around his waist. He frowned when he saw that the hangover he felt was showing on his face. But it was worth it.  
_... you should be allowed to celebrate yourself once in a while!_ Bård thought while he started shaving.

Bjerkvik's community centre had been the last venue of their tour through Nordland and he honestly was a little tired of travelling now. Last year they were lucky to be part of the big Saturday night show on Norwegian television regularly, which made them somewhat famous all over the country, not only Bergen, like it was before.  
Now they were booked by all these small towns, all those little places where nothing ever happened, where Ylvis and their little Comedy-and Revue-show were the most exciting sensation that people experienced probably during all their life. He enjoyed being a star, he could not deny although all the attention could become annoying sooner or later. And the countryside was not his favourite place to be, that much could be said.

At least Bjerkvik had this brand new, modern Hotel right at the shoreline with not only very comfortable rooms but a nice restaurant / bar at the ground floor where the mayor had thrown a little party for their famous guests last night.

The crew had left right after the show, their manager, the band - everyone was keen on getting home on time for national day the next day but Vegard and him had decided to stay and accept the mayor's invitation. There was nothing awaiting the both of them anyway. Helene had taken the kids and joined her parents at their cabin during the holiday weekend. And him? Well, no place to go for him but Vegard's - that's how it had already been at Christmas. So they just as well could stay together here in Nordland.

Bård decided to skip self-pity and turn directly into boredom as he opened his luggage and picked a blue plaid shirt, happy that he wouldn't have to wear his stage outfit for a time now - this red turtle-neck and the white smoking - they were neither his style nor his colour!  
He checked himself in the huge mirror opposite the bed while clothing and liked what he saw although he knew others, like his brother or Peter, their manager, would not agree. The skinny jeans, the boots, his long, fluffy hair that meanwhile almost touched his shoulders - way too American! He didn't care. He had just turned thirty and his divorce was more than a year ago. What the heck were they expecting?  
He gave himself a mocking look by clinching his teeth and lifting his upper lip on the right side. Grrr...dangerous!

He chuckled and run his fingers through the still moist strands of his hair. It's not like he had become a playboy or something just because he enjoyed being a single. They should not complain!

Bård was about to slip into the slim-cut leather jacket when there was a firm knock at the door.  
So Vegard had become impatient to wait for him. No wonder, it was half past ten meanwhile - he  
could bet his brother was already up for hours since he had left the party long before him. Probably all their stuff was already in the car and re-arranged twice!  
With a sweeping move he opened the door and stopped, irritated, when he saw the policeman standing in the hallway.

 

 

Thurs, May 16th, 10:42, the police station

  
The moment he heard his brother's voice through the door Vegard jumped up from the bed where he had just lay down mere seconds before and run to the grid, clinching on the bars as if he could rip them apart. The door opened and Bård was let into the cell section by the older man, officer Klingan.

"What the hell took you so long?" Vegard rushed out before he was able to even notice him.

"I'm sorry...I didn't...wait, what do you mean? I ran over here in less than ten minutes since he told me!" Bård fended of , looking at him with a mixture of irritation and concern.

"We had an incoming car accident and had to deal with that first..." Klingan said in an excusing tone. He seemed a little embarrassed that they weren't organized any better. "I only found the time now to get your brother here."

"See? Not my fault!" Bård went ahead to the middle one of the three cells where his brother stood and reached through the grid to lay a hand on his forearm calmingly "Do you think you could let me in to see him?" he asked the irresolute officer who stood at the door, not sure what to do next.

Bård gave him a charming smile. The man had been a little star struck it seemed to him while they were walking from the hotel. Hopefully he could take some advantages out of it!  
"Come on! What bad can it do? If I planned to do something forbidden I could just as well do it through the grid, couldn't I?"

Klingan weight the key ring in his hand thoughtfully before he came to a conclusion. "Well, alright! I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'll give you ten minutes!"

This time limit was probably good for nothing else than to prove that he was still the one to make the rules but Bård couldn't care less. Impatiently he waited for the officer to open the cell, to close it again behind him and then leave the aisle before he turned around to Vegard and grabbed his shoulders.

"What. The Hell. Happened?" he blurted out, giving every word an extra effort by shaking his brother jerkily. "And why for god's sake are you half naked? You're ice-cold! What happened to your stuff?" He stared down on him irritated, on his white ripped undershirt and the red-scrubbed skin on his hands and forearms.

"Dirty." was the brief reply he received. He followed Vegard's gaze to the small bulge under the blanket on the bed "Don't ask!"

"I'm more interested to finally hear why they keep you here anyway!" he said and took down his hands.

"They say I killed a girl. They found me unconscious, probably drunk next to her behind the hotel with her blood on my hands." Vegard summed up the facts surprisingly businesslike.

"Oh my god!" Bewildered Bård froze for a moment "But you didn't?"

"What kind of a question is that anyway?" Vegard snapped.

"I'm so sorry!" Bård mumbled "This is bloody confusing! I feel not quite prepared for such a situation... naah, damn it, come here!"

He took a step forward and awkwardly dragged him into a tight hug. Vegard lifted his hands to his brother's back and decided after a few seconds to pat it a little helplessly.

"Eh, what you're doing?" he pressed out under the pressure of Bård's arms.

"Comforting you ...thought you might need it!" Bård replied offended, let him go and stepped back.

"Okay, whatever... What I need more right now is someone to help me out here!"

Vegard was a little mad at himself about this reaction. Just three hours ago a little comfort would have been all that he was longing for, a hug from his brother the best thing he could think of.  
But too much time had passed. Too much time to sober up, to make his brain work again. There were decisions he had made, questions that needed to be answered. He more felt like finally do something!

"Yeah... maybe I needed it, who knows!" Bård fended off with a sigh after a few seconds of embarrassed silence. "So..." He drove his hands through his hair and folded them behind his neck. "What do you want me to do? Do you know if there's a way to contact Helene?"

"No! No no no no! We won't do that! Helene can't learn about this! No one should! Not my family, not Peter, no one! We have the rest of the week to clear things up and then I will get out and nobody has to worry about anything!"

"Are you sure? What about Mum?"

"Mum? Don't you listen to me?" Vegard growled annoyed. "We won't tell anybody! We spare them all the worry and just fix it! Trust me, I have my reasons to ask for that, I thought this through!"

"Okay, what about a lawyer?" Bård shrugged, still sceptical.

"Don't hope for that...this is Nordland and it's the holiday weekend! I don't think we will get support by lawyers or criminal investigators before Monday! I mean, you can try but I guess it's best to not waste your time with that."

Vegard had been walking up and down the cell like a caged tiger and now stopped in front of his brother and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Skip it!" he he said quickly when Bård opened his mouth "I know I'm right. Everything will be over  
before next week. I need to hold on to that, okay? So don't talk me out of it! They'll find out that I'm innocent and we just go home."

"They? You mean these two firecrackers out there?" Bård didn't feel comfortable at all with the direction this whole thing took.

"Uh-hm, exactly! You have a point there. So that's what I need you for!" Vegard sat down on the bed and patted on the mattress beside him. "Come here!"

Surprised Bård raised his eyebrows and did as he was told.

"You see, what concerns me the most is that our friendly officers here will screw it up! I'm afraid they gonna spoil the evidence, destroy everything that may prove what really happened." He reached over and clinched at the sleeve of Bård's jacket, as if to force his attention.

"You have to go out there and find things out for me, okay? Who she was, who saw us, how she was killed anyway, are there potential suspects - if it was not me, who could have done it? You know - these kind of things! Would you do that for me?"

Bård tried to free his arm a little and searched his brother's face for signs of fear, desperation or at least sorrow. That he didn't find any felt somehow strange but extremely calming. That was how he knew him - a rock in a stormy sea, protected by huge wall of logic...even if they suspected him of murder!

"Yeah, sure I will! Everything there is to find out I will find!"

He paused.

"Okay... I have no idea how to do that!"

For the first time since he woke up this morning Vegard smiled a little. He not at all felt as self-assured as he pretended to be, honestly spoken he desperately needed this to not lose his mind.

"I know! Good thing then I had enough time to think about that!"

He let go of Bård's sleeve to count on his fingers.

"You go out there and ask those two what they actually found at the crime scene. What weapon and such..."

"Why do you think they should tell me? I mean I wouldn't tell if it was me. I guess it's forbidden!"

"Yeah, I know! But they're very inexperienced... just try to trick them! Second - find out who she was! Ask people who knew her, visit her family if you can! Find out if there was someone who had a better reason than me to kill her!"

"That would be everyone in this town, I guess... you didn't even know her!"

"That's number three by the way - find out what happened last night for I can't remember! Ask people who were at the party what we did and when I left and whatever there is to learn!"  
He rested his hands in his lap and gazed at Bård encouraging. "Do you think you could do that?"

"I have to!" Bård shrugged and stood up, walking around a little. "This is just too important to not try everything..."

Vegard stood up as well. "I know you can do it! Just come back as often as possible to let me know what you found out. I'm dying to learn ...uh...I mean...you can imagine! And... well, we could hug a little now...if you want to."

"Idiot!" Bård wrapped his arms around him in the most manly way he could think of, so the other one wouldn't complain again.

"I rely on you!" Vegard murmured into his shoulder.

"Gaah! Don't do that!"

"I know. But still."

"First thing I'm gonna do though is to get you a new shirt!" Bård said and let him go.

"Thanks mum!"

They both chuckled a little and looked at each other for some endless seconds before Bård turned around and called for the policemen.


	3. part II

 

Thur, May 16th, 11:28, Seaside Hotel

Bård was happy to leave the cold behind when he entered the hotel lobby. The sun was hiding that day and so his outfit had turned out to be not warm enough. He would change that as soon as he was up in his room. The young man at the reception smiled politely when he crossed the hall.

"Mr. Ylvisåker, may I remind you that we expect your checkout before twelve o'clock?"

Bård frowned and returned to the counter. "Oh yeah, right! I'm gonna check out my brother's room in a few minutes but my own room I think I have to keep a few more days. Is that possible?"

"That should be no problem, sir!" the clerk assured him.

Bård gave him a nod and was about to leave when he remembered a little problem. "Oh, one more thing - could you give me the key to my brother's room so I can take out his luggage?"

"Usually we don't do that. But in your special case I think we can make an exception,Mr. Ylvisåker!" the clerk said and smiled at him way too sympathetic.

So the word had been spread already! Bård forced a smile and took the keys. He should have expected that in a tiny town like this. Good thing those two policemen were not the brightest - if it was his job he already had confiscated the suspect's luggage.  
He silently grinned to himself at this thought. Obviously he was not so bad as an investigator, just that he already knew that there was nothing to find in Vegard's stuff, that would not help him.

He opened Vegard's room, started to collect all things and stuffed them into the big suitcase, which didn't take too long because his brother was not the one to make a mess of his room.  
Carefully he separated fresh clothes for two days and put them into a plastic bag that Vegard had used to wrap his shoes in. Then he brought all the luggage into his own room a few doors down the hall, put on a warmer, short, woollen coat and went down to the lobby.

"How long do you wish to stay, Sir?" the clerk asked when he let Bård sign for checkout.

"I think at least until Monday, so that's... four nights?" he calculated quickly.

"Very well. So that is 120 kroner, if you allow."

Bård froze. Money. His cash was almost at it's end and the cheques of their common expense account had been with Vegard. They had not been in his room so he must have had them with him last night, which means they now were in the care of the police. Great. He of course had an own bank account but there was no bank in Bjerkvik, he needed to drive to Narvik first to get more cash. He sighed.

"See, I have some... let's call it logistic trouble regarding money. Is it okay, if I pay for the room later today, in the afternoon?"

"Of course it is. As you wish." the clerk said politely and took away the half filled form with very precise movements.

 _Problems!_ Bård thought as he left. As if there weren't enough of them already!

 

 

 

Thur, May 16th, 12:01, the police station

 

"Officers..."  
Bård placed his palms flat on the table as if to stabilize himself and sent an intense look at the men sitting opposite of him. "...I need your help!"

"Well..." Klingan fumbled the button on the sleeve of his uniform a little "What can we do for you Mr. Ylvisåker?"

"I need some clarity. You know, this man you arrested there..." he pointed at the closed door "...my brother - I spent almost every day of my life with him since the day I was born. I know him better than any other person in this world and I really have a hard time imagine he did what you suspect him of." He exhaled heavily to give his words an extra emphasis.

"You have all my sympathy, Sir but what we found was unmistakable!" Klingan replied, visibly  
uncomfortable.

"And there we are already at the core of my request - could you please be so kind to tell me what exactly it was you found?"

The two policemen exchanged a look and switched a bit in their seats. Svensen cleared his throat.

"I know you are not allowed to tell such things!" Bård blurted out quickly, raising hands before the other even opened his mouth. "I know! But I don't ask for much. No secrets, no results of your investigations, only stone cold facts! How did you find them? How was she killed? Did someone see them beforehand? Couldn't you tell me at least that?" He sighed deeply.

"Please! I don't know how to cope with it!" He gave them his best helpless look he was able to and sucked his bottom lip. He had been pretty good with acting all their career and since he figured playing the superstar would not help him too much here, he rather used the little brother card.  
He felt a little like a ham and just hoped they would buy it. It wasn't too much of an act actually, his heart was hammering in his chest at the tension of what he might get to hear.

"I'm sorry but there are rules telling us..." Svensen began when his older colleague grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Wait a minute, boy! I think we should make a little exception here."

"Seriously?" Svensen frowned, turned to him and lowered his voice a bit. "I don't feel comfortable with it at all! I think we should act as professional as possible. You said yourself you never had a case like this one happening here. I don't want us to get ourselves into trouble!"

"Being professional as a policeman sometimes is about doing the right thing on a humanity level. You will learn that, boy." - Svensen still looked sceptical. "And as you think about it - what bad can he actually do with those information?"

He glanced over to Bård who looked at them with his hands neatly folded on the table, his big blue eyes wide and a little teary.

"Alright Mr Ylvisåker, I am going to tell you what you asked for but you have to promise you won't go spreading those information anywhere else!"

"Of course not!" Bård nodded very seriously. "I'm forever grateful you're doing this!"  
Klingan stood up and went over to the counter where he took a thin green folder and brought it back to the table. Bård leaned over when he opened it to take a look but there wasn't much to see but several pages of handwritten notes followed by a typed version.

"Sooo..." Klingan started , running his finger over his notes "We found your brother and Marit lying on the ground outside the back door of Seaside Hotel next to the parking lot. Your brother was unconscious, obviously boozed heavily whereas Marit was dead. Killed with a screwdriver stabbed into her neck, her blood was all over the place and on your brother's hands and clothes.  
The screwdriver, as we found out, was used before as a lock to keep a dustbin shut to prevent rats from entering it. We took fingerprints from that screwdriver and compared them to your brother's - they match. Also Marit's blouse was ripped open, the buttons were spread all over the place. That can be taken as a hint for a motive..." Klingan added with a pity glance at Bård.

Bård shut his eyes and swallowed heavily. The images Klingan's words created were as hard to endure as he could believe them.

"We of course took photos of the crime scene but Narvik police will have to develop them, we have no opportunity to do that. I'm sorry that we're not able to show them to you."

Bård frowned uncomfortably and rubbed his tongue over his teeth. "Don't be! I don't think I need any more vivid explanation. This isn't easy to hear."

"That's understandable but I hope we could help you."

"Were there any witnesses who saw them earlier that night?"

The policeman opened the folder again that he had just closed."We have several people telling they saw the both of them talking and flirting through the night before they went outside together..."

Bård shook his head in disbelief. This wasn't getting any better! He sighed without any need of acting.

"Thank you so much you made this possible for me! There's just one last problem I have to bother you with - it happened that my brother had our common cheque book with him last night and now I'm left without any money. So if you would allow me to take at least one cheque...?"

"I'm sorry but..."Svensen stood up, walked over to the counter and opened a brown paper box standing on a shelf. "...no! Your brother had no wallet or cheque book with him!"

"He hadn't?"

"No." He checked again. "His jacket was laying next to the door but we found nothing in his pockets but his hotel room key."

"That's strange." Bård's thoughts were jumping back and forth between this new information and what it may contain and his concern of being without any money. He ran his fingers through his hair and rested his elbows heavily on the table until he remembered the plastic bag that he had placed between his feet.

"Oh, I have brought some fresh clothes for Vegard!" he said, lifting it. "I will ask him about his wallet when I give them to him."

"Don't worry, we will take care of that!" Svensen said and took the bag from him, giving him that 'dont-overstrain-our-patience' look. "We also will do some research about what has happened to your brother's wallet. We will tell you if you'll come back tomorrow."

He raised his chin, his baby face covered with red patches from the courage to have it his way now. "You already had your visit time today, so you may come back then."

Bård stood up and shook his hand "Gentlemen..." he said , shaking Klingan's hand as well "Thank you once more!" There was no more profit to be made here.

Outside Bård turned straight away to the backside of the police station. There had to be some possibility to contact Vegard through the small window of his cell. To his surprise there weren't even fences holding him back, he could walk right through the meadow behind the house to the small cell section. God, this was almost too easy! If nobody was looking out the window of the house upside the hill no one would spot him. He picked up a stick from the ground, waited a moment in case the policemen gave Vegard his clothing and then he stretched out and scratched the glass of the skylight.

After a few tries the window was opened .

"Vegard?" he asked with a dimmed voice.

"Yes! There are just gone! How was it going?"

"Depends! They talked to me but what I learned wasn't that positive..."

"Tell me!"

"Ok, so they say she was stepped in the neck with a screwdriver that belonged to a dustbin there... Could be anybody who used it. Your fingerprints were on it though."

"Damn..." Vegard murmured. He had hoped for no evidence pointing to him.

"And then... Vegard? They say her blouse was ripped open and they had witnesses who saw you flirting and leaving with her."

"Oh..."

"My jaw was dropping when I heard this! I mean if it had been me - but you? I really can't imagine! Do you remember her from earlier that evening?"

"I'm not sure. I woke up in that alley, you know... I saw her lying there...her face..." Vegard explained hesitantly.

"Really? Fuck!"

"Yeah...that face - it didn't look quite human to me. My brain was pretty much fucked up though. I can't swear I knew her from before but I think I remember talking to her."

"Did you actually drink that much?"

"I don't know!" Vegard sighed and slid down with his back at the wall until he came to sit on his heels on the bed where he had been standing on. "I don't know anything anymore..."  
Bård took a look around if he was still unnoticed.

"Okay, I think I will try to find some people who were at the party yesterday and check out what they actually saw.  
...Vegard?" he asked after a moment when he got no reply.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"I don't remember!"

"Yeah, I know..."

"I mean - what if it was like that? What if I tried to touch her and we started to fight?"

"No! No - stop that! I will never believe this, not in a million years! And you shouldn't either! You hear me? I have to drive to Narvik first but then I will find someone who can clear this up! And you will not worry about that meanwhile! Promise?"

"Hm... Why do you go to Narvik?"

"Oh, yeah right! Did you have our cheque book with you? It's gone and I'm running out of money. Our friends there say you had no wallet when they found you."

"That can't be right! I had my wallet in my jacket!" Vegard said rather uninterested.

"And that was where you kept the cheques?"

"Of course! Where do you think I had them? Up my ass?"

Bård raised his eyebrows, surprised at his brother's harsh tone. "Well, at least that would have been useful now!" he grumbled. "Well, anyway! I need some money now or I will get nothing done! I'll be back soon and see whom I can find to enlighten this! I'll come back tonight and report to you, okay?"

"Okay. Never mind my tone! See you!"

"See you!"

Vegard rested his head on his hands and listened to his brother's footsteps disappear. He couldn't do anything in this fucking cell but sit and worry...no matter what Bård asked him to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All potential Norwegian readers (I know at least one) may excuse if the prizes seem downright nonsense. I have no idea what things have cost in the sixties, only referring on what I know from my own country and then tried to make the relations fitting. Thank you.


	4. part III

Thur, May 16th, 12:45, outside Seaside Hotel

 

Their car was standing at the parking lot of the hotel. Bård fumbled the key out his pocket and shoved it into the lock of the '58er Volvo Duett when his gaze was attracted by the red and white tape that was fluttering at the fence that separated the parking lot from the backyard of the hotel. Maybe he should go and take a look at the scene. Vegard's wallet may have fallen out his jacket and could be just laying there in a corner, unaware by the police. That was something he had to check out, he told himself, no other reason…  
A little hesitantly he went over and stopped at the tape. For some reason he didn't dare to cross that line and it was not for his respect for the law. The policemen had drawn the outlines of the girl’s body on the asphalt and there was a huge brown stain in the middle. They also had marked where Vegard had been lying. His stomach tightened by the thought of his brother lying there, unconscious. When he noticed the smears in the dry puddle where someone - Vegard - had obviously slipped on the blood he gagged and turned his head away. He never thought it would be that hard!  
With hurried steps Bård turned around and walked back to the car. He had more important things to do than sightseeing a crime scene!  When he reached the car he remembered the wallet he had planned  to look for but it had been most unlikely that he had found it anyway.  
He opened the car, sat down in the driver's seat and closed the door. He struggled a bit to hit the ignition with the key because of his hands shaking slightly but when he finally managed it and turned the key all that could be heard was a small, clicking sound.

"No! Don't do that!" he whispered with desperation in his voice.

He tried again but the result stayed the same. The battery had died. He clutched his hands around the steering wheel and closed his eyes. This just can’t be happening!

"No" He hit his head against the wooden ring in his hands. "No, no, no, no,no, no, no, no!"  
What was he supposed to do now?

He got out and kicked one of the front tires with rage before he locked the car. Damn it! This had happened before but in a city like Oslo you just took the bus or called a taxi… 

The bus! There had been a bus stop a hundred meters down the road. Bård picked up speed and ran to the sign that stood lonely at the waterside of the road. He was running out of luck it seemed. The only bus going that day had left an hour ago.

He moaned annoyed, sat down on the bench next to the sign and stared out on the calm, grey water. So he won't get to a bank. What else? He had to ask for credit.

 

Thur, May 16th, 12:58, Seaside Hotel

 

The counter was vacant so Bård hit the bell. The young clerk immediately came from the backroom as if he had waited just behind the door and smiled welcomingly. 

"So here you are! Did everything go to your satisfaction?" 

"Noooo...actually it didn't!" Bård cleared his throat. "Do you think it is possible that I could pay for the room on Monday? I can assure you that of course I have the money but it turned out that it is impossible for me to get some, due to the holiday weekend. It would be really helpful if you allowed me to take care of that next week!" 

The clerk raised his eyebrows, took a step back and made a little bow. "I will have to ask the manager about it, please wait a moment!"

He walked back to the backroom and returned with the manager, a short, fat guy, as fast as he had appeared the first time.

"Mr. Ylvisåker, how can I help you?" the manager asked him formally.

"I would like to ask you for some credit, to be honest. I have no opportunity to get some money until Monday, so it would be nice if I could pay for my room just then!" Bård answered with a charming smile.

"I am sorry but I have to insist on you paying for your room beforehand!" the fat man refused.

"But... listen, you know who I am and that I have the money to pay the room for the entire year if I wished to. And you know what situation I am in - I could really use your support here!" Bård explored the man's face to find a way to get through to him. Obviously there was no way.

"Sir, I don't know any of these things! I have no overview of your financial status and I don't know about your personal difficulties as it is not my business to learn about these. To my big regret I have to tell you that it is not the policy of our establishment to give our guests credits like that."

As if! Bård cringed at the awkwardness of these words. So that was what it had become. All of the sudden he was nobody. Kicked out on the street, no one you would borrow a krone or leave your kids with in the same room. Well, screw it!

"Yeah, thank you!" he mumbled. " My room will be cleared in fifteen minutes!"

Annoyed he grabbed the key and went upstairs where he began to pack his stuff immediately. For once he would leave all their luggage in the car. If he arranged the suitcases and guitar cases and bags properly he most likely would find enough space to even sleep in the car. Luckily the Duett was such a roaming vehicle, they had chosen it to bring their instruments easily from concert to concert. In the spur of a moment he grabbed an ugly green pillow from the sofa and stuffed it into his bag. That price they had to pay for kicking him out! At least he would have something to rest his head on at night. It took him three rounds to bring everything down to the parking lot, then he was done with Seaside hotel. For good. 

 

Thur, May 16th, 13:35, downtown 

 

As in most of those small towns many of the important places in Bjerkvik, like shops, were gathered together in what could be called a main street so Bård went there while he tried to figure out what to do next.  
Like Vegard had said he should find out about the dead girl. He now knew nothing more than her name, Marit Johansen. He spotted a telephone cell and took a look into the telephone book. For Bjerkvik there were only two Johansens registered. A common name like that compared to the mass of eight hundred inhabitants it could as well be, Marits family didn't even have a telephone. He had to think of a different way to figure this out.

Spontaneously Bård decided to try out his luck at the bakery.  
When he got in, there were two women standing at the counter, holding their purchases and chatting with the saleslady.  He waited patiently until she would turn to him and ask him what he wanted to have. The fragrance of the fresh baked bread reminded him painfully of the fact that it was afternoon already and he hadn't eaten or drunk anything the whole day. He should actually buy some small things . Bård took out his wallet to check his cash that indeed amounted to twelve kroner. What a wealth! Still waiting he suddenly realised what the women in front of him were talking about. It of course had to be the horrible murder that had happened the previous night.  No wonder, probably the whole town was talking about nothing else but that! 

"...just think of her poor family!" one of the women said right then.

"God, I can hardly imagine! It's so cruel when they're taken from you so unexpectedly!" 

"Oh, I don't know! I don't think it's so unexpected that she ended up like that - I mean being raped and killed!"

So now she was raped already! Interesting.

"How can you even say that?" the other woman asked outraged.

"Ah, come on! The way she was, how she acted towards boys? If she lived in a big city I'm sure she had been harmed long ago!"

"But those were only rumors, we should not talk badly of her, now that she's dead!" the saleslady threw in. She remembered her job and turned to Bård " What may I do for you , young man?" 

Bård shifted his weight from one foot to the other a little awkwardly when all heads turned towards him and cleared his throat.

"I'd like to have a cinnamon roll and a bottle of apple juice, please!" he said hesitantly.  
The bakery, or rather the minor grocery store that this one seemed to be, offered a lot of more things than he thought first. He had to choose carefully with his savings.

"Oh, it's you!" one of the women snapped when she recognised him. " I wonder what you're doing here?"  
Bård pressed some air through his nostrils "Well, I planned to buy something to eat..."

"I can't believe you walk around here just like that after all that happened!" the other woman let him know.

"Yeah, I understand your feelings but I submit that I haven't done anything!"  
He knew how to deal with this. He learned it but too well through the years of his showbiz life to keep a straight face and stay friendly however creepy or unpleasant fans may act.  
"...and my brother either, by the way!" he added.

"Hmm, of course he says that." the woman addressed to the other two " What else could one say in his situation?" Bård rolled his eyes internally.

"You know what?" the first woman now turned to him directly."You might believe your partner is not guilty but then explain to me why bad things never seemed to happen in our peaceful little town before you came with your revue..." She almost spit out the word "...and all this depraved big city behaviour, putting stupid thoughts in the minds of our youth..." 

"His brother! He's his brother!" the second woman threw in.

"Even worse! You're probably two of a kind then!" She mustered him from head to toe.

Bård just stared at her, biting his lips and clutching his fists in the pockets of his coat. He was simply lost on words., almost felt like an hurricane was blowing right into his face. He had no idea what he might have done to earn such hate. 

"Oh, come on ladies!" The saleslady tried to intervene and put the apple juice on the counter.  
"Just two days ago you were all excited for them to come to Bjerkvik!"

"But what does that lead to? Now you can see it. Just look at Smalstrøm! - throws a fancy party at the hotel, like who he thinks he is? One of the Kennedys?"

Smalstrøm was the mayor who had invited them to stay another night. If only they hadn't agreed.

"Oh, whatever!" The second woman shrugged and grabbed her basket from the floor.  
"I've got laundry to do!" With that she turned around and left the store, followed by the other one.

" Never mind, Sir!" the saleslady said and smiled apologetic. "I don't believe one of you did it.  
I followed  you for a while now in the magazines and I saw you at the television show...your are good guys!" 

Bård answered her smile. Somehow she reminded him of a neighbour of his parents home.

"And they are no bad people either!" she added, referring to the two women who had just left  
"You shouldn't take it personally, people just get scared when unexpected things happen. We never thought something like this could come close to us!" 

"It's hard to not take things personally when you're in a situation like mine!" Bård sighed and watched her placing a cinnamon roll into a paper bag. "I feel so sorry about all this but I have no idea really how to act right now." 

"It's two kroner and eighty øre." she said , handing him the bag.

Bård started counting his coins and earned a pity look from the friendly lady. "I mean what would you do? For instance - can you tell me where they live, Marit's family? I feel like I maybe should go there and offer my condolences."

"Oh, that's really thoughtful of you, having all these worries about your brother and all! They live up on Mølndalveien. It's the white house across of the little park. You can hardly miss it."  
She smiled at him for a second before she pressed a hand against her chest and sighed.  
"I just knew you were a nice boy! Come here, I'll give you another one!"

She picked up a second cinnamon roll, made him open the paper bag and let it drop in.  
Bård thanked her, overwhelming. He had to grin a bit about being called a nice boy, nevertheless this moment felt a lot nearer to heaven than he had thought would be possible that day.  
With pleasure he took a big bite from the still warm roll when he left, preparing internally for the next challenge already.

 

Thur, May 16th, 14:07, outside Marit Johansen's house

 

It took some time to find Mølndalveien but it indeed was quite easy to spot the right house then. This 'park' the saleswoman had been mentioning amused Bård slightly; it was not more than a round lawn with four benches placed in a circle with hedges growing between them that just had become green. It would not even have been there if Bjerkvik's little school was not placed on the opposite. Bård hesitated when he came closer to the white, wooden house, not sure how he was supposed to start after he had rang the bell.  
Just the moment when he was about to reach the property the front door opened and a dark-haired woman in a black dress and a tall bald man stepped outside. Scared he stopped because he felt that he was not prepared for that. With a rush Bård jumped behind a hedge and ducked so they wouldn’t recognizes him, passing by. He felt like an idiot doing it or a pervert lurking behind a bush but it was but too clear that confronting them had been a really bad idea. Him as the brother of the man they might think murdered their daughter just a few hours ago, speaking up to them? In the best case he would be a painful reminder, in the worst case they would possibly throw stones after him. He wouldn't be surprised. He watched their petrified faces as they walked down the road and felt awful about it, even though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong. When they had disappeared around the corner he came out from behind the hedge and sat down irresolute on one of the benches. Talking to the family wasn't his best idea to begin with. What kind of information did he expect to get out of them? No one would feel like chatting over their daughter's personality on  the day of  her death. 

Which now left him with no clue whom he should ask instead. How was he supposed to know who were close to her or who was willing to talk to him. Could he possibly just rang at some random neighbours' door bells and question them?  Damn! Why wasn't Vegard here to advise him? It had been his stupid plan to make him a detective in the first place, it was not his fault that it turned out he sucked! He dropped the thought of going back to the police station to ask his brother what to do next. If anything it would cost him too much time to do so. 

While he was still considering getting up and ringing some door bells, someone suddenly ran past him and threw themselves on the next bench that was partly hidden by the hedge.  
He sat up and bent forward a bit to find out about that person. It was a girl or a young woman with a rather short, blond hair and a worn out coat over a pair of jeans. She now was sitting there with her elbows propped on her thighs and her face buried in her hands, sobbing.  
A twist of fade. Someone to talk to.

Bård got up and slowly walked over to her. " Hey...?" he said carefully, bending down a bit.

Jerkily she raised her head and gazed at him surprised. After a second or two her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, it's you!" Hastily she wiped her hands over her face to dry the tears and stared at him as if he was a manifestation.

"Can I...?" Bård took one step closer and pointed at the seat next to her.

"Of course you can!" she hurried to say and made some space for him.

Bård sat down, turned towards her and waited a moment for her to gather herself. He almost wished he cared about etiquette so he now had a handkerchief to offer her. To his relief she took care of herself and pulled out her own.

"So... You know who I am?" he asked redundantly.

"Certainly I do, I we met at the party last night!... I guess you don't remember!" She smiled a little insecure smile and sniffed. "Don't mind me acting like a fool, I was just so surprised to see you here."

He returned the smile. "It’s perfectly fine. I'm only here to offer Marit's family my condolences but at the last moment I felt like it was not appropriate."

"Oh, don't worry! I don't think it would affect them to much! Kurt probably is relieved to get rid of her!" She blushed when she noticed him raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry...I don't... I shouldn't say something like that!" she stuttered.

"You obviously knew her pretty well..." Bård assumed, happy to finally receive such information all voluntarily.

The look on her face suddenly changed drastically. "She was my best friend ... !" the girl whispered. She leaned back in the bench and pressed the bridge of her nose to prevent herself from crying again.

"Oh..."

Bård rubbed his knees, insecure. He didn't right know what to do with his hands, if it was polite to touch her arm comforting or rather not. His first-time experiences seemed to continue endlessly.

"I'm...I'm so sorry!" he said hesitantly. "If you want me to leave...?"

The girl swallowed a few times before she answered. "Why would I want that?" 

"Because of what I experienced in this town when people realize that I am the brother of a man they think killed your friend..."

"Oh no! I never would..." She cleared her throat and sat up straight again. "Me and Marit, you know, we are...were...your fans , I mean we...oh god this is so embarrassing!" She blushed.

"We always watched you on television and we went to see your show in Bergen three years ago when we had finished high school and visited her aunt for vacation. That was when we started following your career. You are... I mean, I would never believe that Vegard had done something like that! I talked to him yesterday at the party and he is so nice and everything... I..."

"You like him!" Bård smiled a little about her embarrassed stammer.

"Oh, I like you both!" She breathed and her cheeks turned red again when she looked up to him.  
"Sorry, I am..." She paused and dried her hand on her coat before she stretched it out to him. "I'm Henrikke!"

"Hendrikke...nice to meet you!" Bård shook her hand, trying his best to make the situation less awkward.

"Henrikke - without the d!"

"...rikke, yeah? Okay."

"Yeah, you can call me that...Rikke, I mean... God, what a stupid situation!"

"You're telling me!" Bård chuckled. "But actually I couldn't be happier to meet you ... especially if you don't believe that Vegard did it! I'm desperately trying to find someone to tell me what was going on with him and Marit last night... If there was anything going on! I didn't pay too much attention on what he did."

"Oh, I will tell you everything that helps you! You don't think he could kill someone either, right?" 

"He's the last person I think would do that, believe me! It's just that I fear your police is not, well...experienced enough to find out the truth."

"Yeah, Jonas!" she snorted. "He won't be able to find his own feet!"

"You mean the younger one, Svensen?"

"Yes! We went to school together...he's a moron!"

"Ah, I see, we are on the same side here!" He grinned knowingly. "So what can you tell me about the party? You talked to Vegard?"

"Yes we did! Marit was a huge fan of him, we were really excited to get an invitation to the party. That was because Marit was working as a secretary at the mayor's office, otherwise we never were allowed to be there! He was really nice as I said, flirting with Marit a little and such..." 

"Really?" Bård shook his head and tried to picture that situation. "I don't know when I saw my brother flirting last time! He's happily married and all, you know? Plus he's a little of a philistine..." 

"Nooo, he's not!" Rikke glanced at him a little reproachfully. "He was probably just trying to be friendly! Marit was pretty good with charming men though, not like me..." She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Anyway - at one point I went to the toilet and they were chatting and laughing when I left. It took me some time to get back because I had to line up at the toilet. So when I came back they both were gone. That was about midnight. No one could tell me where they went, so I left after I had waited for her for twenty minutes."

"Where did you think she went then?"

"Actually I thought...well, I thought they probably went up to his room! I was really mad at her but ...to be honest..."

"It wouldn't have been too unusual for her?" Bård asked straight away. She nodded without looking at him. "I heard some women talking like that at the bakery earlier. Thank you for being so open!"

"But it doesn't help too much, does it? You don't know much more than before!"

"It's a start though! I felt like running around without any real plan. Now I finally talked to someone. Still a lot of running waiting for me... even my car died! Hell, this is most likely the shittiest day of my life!" He stretched out his legs, shoved his hands in the pocket of his tight jeans and shook his head, disillusioned.

"Your car died? Oh, that's stupid! I can borrow you my bicycle if you want! I live right there, three houses down the road."

"Your bicycle?" Bård frowned sceptically.

"Yes! It's a good way to get quickly from one point to another. If you want to find more people from the party you will have to do a lot of running otherwise. Oh, and what you should do, I think, is to talk to Doctor Sandberg, I know he did the surgery on Marit when they found her. He lives all the way up at the other end of the town though." 

"Wow, this tip is perfect! Thank you! I was actually wondering where they took her ...body." He awkwardly tried to avoid the word for it felt rude to say it to Rikke like that. "...I really should go there first before I try anything else. Can you describe me how to get there?"

"Sure I can!  Do you want my bike now?"  

"Uh, I'm not so sure... I haven't sat on one for more than ten years." Bård shrugged and scratched his temple.

"That's easy!" Rikke stood up and smiled down on him. "You never forget how to do that." She made an inviting gesture to make him stand up.

"Yeah...thank you then, I think!" With a leap he sprang back on his feet and clapped his hands. "So - where was your house?" Enough of sitting around, he had things to do!

"Over there." Rikke pointed down the road and started walking that direction.  
"That doctor, he is your physician here? Do you think he will talk to me?" Bård asked when he followed her.

"Oh I would try at least! He came up from Bodø when our old doctor died a few years ago. He's not like most people here, not so grumpy like us nordmen.

"You're not grumpy though!" Bård gave her a thankful smile. "You are the most helpful person I could imagine to meet in this town! I'll never forget that!"

"Really, I'm happy if I can help you!" she replied and opened a small garden gate. From behind the stairs she brought a sturdy white woman's bicycle and shoved it over to him. Bård guessed he would be able to ride that. Rikke was almost Vegard's height so her bike was big enough to let him sit comfortably.

"When do you want me to give it back? Tonight?"

"No hurry!" Rikke shrugged. "You can keep it until tomorrow or whenever. Just come to me and bring it back when you don't need it anymore."

"Okay..." Bård sat on the saddle carefully. Rikke was really kind! He would buy her a bunch of flowers when he got some money again. He let her explain the way to the doctor's and shook her hand gratefully before he stepped into the pedals.


	5. part IV

Thur, May 16th, 14:44, on the streets of Bjerkvik

 

After a few minutes of struggle in which his body tried to remember how to feel save on a bicycle Bård was relieved he had taken Rikke's offer. He now was able to save a lot of time, getting from one place to another and he felt like he should hurry to make some more progress since it was quite unlikely that tomorrow, with people celebrating national day, he would be able to find out more. The information about the doctor had been the most useful he had received during the whole day. If he was as friendly as Rikke had said this was his best chance to learn more than rumors and hearsay. Vegard would be much more satisfied if he delivered facts. Although this useless dump had barely more than ten streets it was quite a challenge to find any place - there for one were no signs to name the streets and secondly those were running up and down the hills in all strange directions. He had to ask three times before he found the doctor's house. When he came nearer he saw a man who was about to place a bag on the passenger's seat of a car that was parked in front of the house.

Bård stopped and got off the bike. "Doctor Sandberg?"

"Yes?" The man at the car turned around and and gazed at him with a questioning frown.

"My name is Bård Ylvisåker. I was wondering if you had the time to tell me some details about the dead girl that was found last night."

The doctor was a slender man in his forties with glasses and dark blond hair that started to become thin at his forehead. With a straight face he looked at Bård for a moment and then nodded slowly. "I was asking myself if you would show up here at some point..." 

He knocked on the roof of the car as if he'd come to a conclusion."You are right! It makes some sense if the both of us had a conversation! Unfortunately..." he continued, walking around to the driver's door "...right now I have a patient to visit." He paused and mustered Bård. "Why don't we meet tomorrow, let's say at eleven here at my surgery?"

"Tomorrow? You won't be at the feast?" Bård asked surprised. "I can be there of course!"

"Well, someone has to do all the work, don't you think? See you tomorrow, Mr. Ylvisåker!" With that he sat in the car, started the engine and drove away.

Bård watched him leaving and was half disappointed, half excited. Sure, he wouldn't learn anything new today but this man seemed intelligent and open-minded he could tell just by looking at him and the fact that he obviously knew things that were worth discussing with him made Bård's thoughts running wild immediately.  What could it be that he had found out examining Marit's body? Was there already a proof for Vegard's innocence?  
Bård's stomach flipped with impatience. He should concentrate on planning his next steps. So what was left on his to-do list ? He turned the bike around and shoved it back down the hill so he had time to think it through. To find some more witnesses might be a good idea. Maybe there had been at least anyone who saw his brother leaving - and who had been with him. So back to some public place, taking the risk of being bullied again. He moaned exasperatedly over his decision and swung himself on the bike.

 

Thur, May 16th, 16:23, downtown

 

Not many of the houses in Bjerkvik were old, most of them destroyed during the war and replaced by boring white cubes but the Inn Bård had decided to pay a visit was as traditional as those places could be. Dim light, low ceiling and wooden interior. He sat down at the bar and ordered a tea and a stew, as it was written on a blackboard on the wall. It would eat up half of his remaining money but he had to eat properly at least once a day. There were two handful of people with him in the taproom, eating or drinking. First he had gone back to the bar at the hotel and asked the barkeeper there, who had been polishing the glasses, where he might find the man working the previous night. But lucky as he was he learned that that man had the weekend off and lived in Narvik. Who the waitress had been working at the party the barkeeper couldn't tell and the receptionist had refused to give him any information. Bård began to develop a hatred towards that pale, skinny man.  
Hunger had made his mood even worse so the idea had been born to visit the inn. Still the question remained how to get any useful answers from those guests. When the innkeeper placed his tea on the bar in front of him, he took a deep breath and asked right away. 

"Do you possibly know if one of your guests were at the party at Seaside Hotel last night?"

The innkeeper looked at him as if he spoke a foreign language - which was almost the case, the dialect most of the older people spoke there was quite ... well, different.

"So why should I know about something like that?" he mumbled grumpily and started washing glasses.

"Because you are the keeper here and as far as I know those are the best informed people in a town." Bård smiled at him humbly. He didn't want to come across as he was eagerly hoping to be recognised. "I am looking for someone I talked to last night but I can't remember the name." he lied to not make things too obvious.

"I don't know anything about that party. I had to mind my own business, sorry! " He dried his hands with a towel. "Your stew will take a few minutes. I'll serve it to that table over there when it's ready!"

Bård sighed silently. If this should not take the rest of the day he had to speed things up a little! Resolutely he stood up and went directly to the opposite end of the bar where three men were sitting, having a beer. 

"Excuse me gentlemen,' he said and sat down next to them "Maybe you know your Mayor gave a party at the hotel last night ...has one of you been to that party?" 

He caused a similar reaction as he got from the keeper - somehow he felt like an alien.

One of the men snorted mockingly before he answered. "Look at us, man! We're working for LKAB in Narvik. Do you think we actually hang out at parties in hotel bars?"

"I don't even know what that is!" Bård had to admit.

"It's the Swedish iron mining corporation, man! We load the barges at the bulk port."

"We have nothing to do with the Mayor, nothing..." a second man added but was muted by the third , poking him with his elbow.

"Oh, I didn't think properly, sorry. I was just trying..." Bård said apologetically.

"Trying what?" the first man asked frowning.

"Never mind! Enjoy your beer!" Bård raised his hands while he stood up and walked over to his next victims. Someone just had to have information he needed and he would eventually find them if he only asked enough people!

He worked his way through the entire taproom and a couple in a corner actually had been at the party but they hadn't seen anything useful.  
Then his stew came and he sat down to eat. The stew was excellent and the bread was fresh and he forced himself to chew slowly and enjoy every bit of it since he didn't know when his next meal was going to happen.  
While he was eating, he saw the three men he had interviewed first talking to the Innkeeper, obviously about him he could tell by the glances they gave him from time to time. Bård concentrated on his bowl and avoided her gazes, he was not up for provoking quarrels.  
So he missed how one of the men got up and walked over to him. He only recognised him when he came to stand at his table. Surprised he looked up to the beefy man standing really close to him now, almost touching his chair.

"My friends and I" he started talking casually "We were discussing the strange behaviour of southern folks. You know, coming to nice places like this, bothering people with annoying questions..."

"I'm sorry!" Bård hurried to assure him. "I didn't mean to bother anyone. It's only these foreign circumstances that I'm in, that..." 

"I don't care about your circumstances."  the man interrupted him quietly. "We all are only here to enjoy our beer or..." He lifted Bård's cup and took a look into it. "...tea! We shouldn't forget that!"

With a hard thud he placed the cup back on the table, only millimeters away from Bård's hand.

Scared Bård flinched a little but managed to let his hand remain where it was. He swallowed heavily on his bread and stared in his bowl while the man turned around and unhurriedly walked back to his seat.

Well, interviewing people was obviously not his strong point. He should finish his meal and leave  sooner rather than later! Progress was made differently… 

 

Thur, May 16th, 17:42, the police station

 

He knew Vegard impatiently waited for him to report, so no matter how early it still was, no matter how little he really had to tell, Bård had made his way back to the police station.  
He forced the bicycle through the uncut meadow to the backside of the cell section and leaned it against the white coloured brick wall underneath the skylight. With a little effort he came to stand on the rack so his head was the same height as the little window. He didn't even had to knock,  
Vegard opened immediately when he saw his shape up there.

"Hey...! What the hell are you standing on?" he said for a greeting.

"A bike!" Bård grinned.

"A bike?"

"Yeah - borrowed! Pretty useful, I'm telling you! For example I can stand on it to see your funny  
little face instead of only hearing your charming voice!"

Vegard gave him an annoyed look through half-pinched eyes.

"Hey, I see you are just as happy to see...me..." Scared Bård lowered his voice and gazed through the cell when he remembered that his outburst could maybe heard in the guard room.

"Ah, don't worry!" Vegard shrugged. "It's only one of them present and he's listening to sports news on the radio for a while now. They are kind of mad at me that they have to do night shifts now for a while. I offered them to let me go home instead but they didn't seem to find that funny!"

"Well at least you didn't lose your sense of humor completely... I got worried!"

"Gallows humor!" Vegard shoved one hand into the mess of black curls on his head that gave him a little touch of a mad scientist  and scratched his scalp. "I'm slowly going insane in this bloody cell!" He sighed. "So what could you find out today?" 

"Not too much unfortunately!" Bård answered with pity in his voice. He refused to feel like a failure, he had given his best. "People in this nice little town seem to take offense if they think you are the brother of a murderer."

They grimaced both to display the other what they thought about that.

"Mostly I got bullied rather than answered." Bård continued. "But! - I met a girl!" He beamed at his brother with  pride now that he came to the interesting part.

"Uh! No, Jesus, Bård! Seriously!" Vegard jumped off the bed and covered his face with his hands. He should have known!

"Oh, for God's sake, not like that you idiot! Come up here and listen to me!"

With a sigh Vegard gave in and climbed on the bed again.

"This girl I met, her name is Rikke, she happened to be the dead girl's best friend! Mere coincidence I found her. She was basically the only one who was willing to talk to me about Marit."

He gave Vegard a detailed update of what he learned from Rikke.

"So right after that I went to the doctor's but he only had time to meet me tomorrow at eleven. As I said - there is very little that I found out, considering that I spent the whole day on this!" 

"Oh, I think that's quite a lot, really." Vegard praised him. "Including your trip to Narvik you didn't have more than a few hours anyway."

Bård bit his lip when he heard him mentioning Narvik. He quickly decided to spare Vegard his misery. He had enough to worry about and couldn't help in any way.

"I think it's interesting though what I learned about Marit's behaviour when it comes to men." he mentioned to change the subject swiftly. "It offers a lot of motives, don't you think?"  
"I don't know..." Vegard fell silent for a little while and bit his cheek, staring into the meadow behind Bård. "If her friend says I was actually flirting with her and she was someone to go with men easily... you know I act strangely when I'm drunk!"

"You're still not over that idea, are you?" Bård shook his head. "Man, you love Helene,you never would have gone that far,no matter how drunk!"

Vegard glared at him short-temperately. "Then explain to me how I even got in that situation! What other explanations are there for us being out there in the first place, how did my fingerprints get on the weapon?" 

"Because someone wanted it to look like that? Making you the scapegoat?"

"And why should someone pick me for that? I have no relation to anyone here, bad choice, I'd say!" Vegard's voice has gotten louder and louder.

"I don't know. You..."

"Yeah, you don't know!" Furiously Vegard punched the concrete wall underneath the window. "Then stop telling me it's impossible that I did it, when still all evidence is rather against me than on my side!"

"Maybe the doctor will deliver something more positive tomorrow. Stop freaking out like that! The officer will hear you if you don't stop yelling." 

Bård's soberly spoken statement made it clear to him that he was over the top. Vegard stuffed his hands in his pockets and took half a step away from Bård, as far as the slim bed would allow it.

"Sorry..." he murmured.

Bård sighed. "I told you we didn't learn enough by now to give that story a different direction. Tomorrow we will know more." He considered reaching through the window to make contact with Vegard again but dismissed the idea. "I'll come back tomorrow morning before I go meeting the doctor, having my regular visit, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Have a good night."

"Vegard, try to calm down okay? Don't let your paranoia eat you up! Maybe I can get you one of your books tomorrow so your thoughts ain't running in circles all the time."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Vegard mumbled and without looking up a last time he jumped off the bed again and laid down.

Bård frowned and grabbed the window frame to support his climb off the bicycle. "Good night Vegard!"

"Good night" came a not very passionate answer from inside.

He decided to take it slow on his way back. He had a lot of time to kill and nowhere to go but his stupid car so he shoved the bicycle leisurely down the road.  
He was worried about Vegard. It was not quite like him to be aggressive and grumpy, this constant ruminating was ruining him. Bård himself still had some trust in judiciary and police - okay, 'real' police - to clear up that his brother was no murderer but for Vegard's sake and his salvation he had to find a proof as soon as possible! The next day he would… 

Suddenly, in the middle of his thoughts an unpleasant feeling crawled up his spine. It was no sound or movement but he just knew someone followed him! With a rapid movement Bård turned around and scanned the surroundings. Nothing. Obviously paranoia was infectious. He shrugged and continued his way down the hill.  
But after he followed the road in a curve towards the shoreline the feeling returned, accompanied by the small, grinding sound of steps on gravel. Rushed he threw the bicycle into the hedge right of him and turned around as fast as he could just to find the street as empty as before.

"Who is there?" he asked loudly. He would not let them intimidating him.

No one answered and he couldn't see anything suspicious. Bård took a few steps back up the road and observed the front yards around him minutely.

"What do you want from me? Come out!" he called at no specific direction.

No one showed up, no sound, no movement.  After a minute he felt stupid. At least if he was wrong there were only a few birds laughing at him. He walked backwards, still watching the street, until he reached his bicycle. Then he pulled it out the hedge, sat up and kicked the pedals. He'd better take no risk.

 

 

Thur, May 16th, 23:17, parking lot of Seaside Hotel 

 

For the hundredth time Bård twisted on his uncomfortable bed. Indeed the Volvo was big enough to give space for his whole length but he only had the old blanket they kept in the trunk and the pillow he stole from the hotel, so he either laid on the sheet of the car or froze his butt off. He had decided to wrap himself like in a sleeping bag so now he had the best of both.  
Earlier that evening he had moved the car to the very edge of the lot to not attract attention from whom ever when camping in it. It had been absurdly exhausting to roll the heavy vehicle all on his own and he had cursed himself for even starting it.  
After that he had built a bed and then sat himself in the passenger's seat and laid solitaires with a deck of cards he kept for playing poker with the band guys and read in one of Vegard's incredibly boring technology books until it had become dark enough to lay down to sleep.  
Bård sat up to put on another pullover and a second pair of socks. As long as he was freezing like that he couldn't even think about sleeping. With a dramatic sigh he laid back down afterwards and pulled the blanket up to his chin. In his current situation he almost was jealous of his brother. Vegard was laying in a real bed in a heated room, he had a toilet, he had had supper and a breakfast awaited him as well. Bård's stomach gave a loud grumble when he thought about food. It had not been much he had had that day. Yeah, right then he would clearly vote for changing places with Vegard.

 

Friday, May 17th, 0:32, the police station 

 

In his cell Vegard awoke with a scream.  
He fished the blanket from the ground that he had kicked off and laid back down. With trembling hands he pressed the crumbled fabric against his chest and breathed deeply until his heartbeat calmed down.  
He had dreamed about Marit. For the third time now and each time the same. It was not her body, her dead face that was hounding him. In his dream he saw her laughing and talking, him and her having fun on a walk somewhere. But sooner or later she'd come closer, smiling and leaning in to kiss him. And then he would stretch out his hands, grab her white neck and strangle her until her desperately wide open eyes died. The last time she even fell apart in his hands afterwards, leaving brown mud between his fingers. To him it didn't matter that this wasn't the way she actually died. He could feel the rage in his chest and the might that rushed through him when he saw her die and it scared him more than his brain was able to build thoughts about.  
Vegard concentrated his gaze on the small lamp at the wall of the aisle. The dim light felt like an anchor to him in the awful darkness that surrounded him. If he didn't close his eyes, if he just kept staring at this lamp he wouldn't fall asleep. Not falling asleep was the only way to escape from those dreams. He would stay awake, he would not lose this fight.

 

Friday, May 17th, 0:32, parking lot of Seaside Hotel

 

Also Bård was still awake in his uncomfortable camp. He had found out that the blanket kept the warmth somewhat better if he didn't change position too often. So he laid, eyes open, motionless and waited for the warmth to reach his feet. His thoughts had been running in senseless circles over and over again until he had stopped thinking completely and only lingered in a sort of dull meditation.  
Suddenly something caught his attention. He only recognised the shadow that fell over the luggage behind him when it moved. 

Someone was standing outside!

Scared he sat up and tried to see something through the dusty windows. Hastily he felt for the flashlight that stood next to his pillow, kicked the back door open and sprang out on the gravel.

"Who the hell is there!" he shouted, running a few meters out in the parking lot while he let the beam of the flashlight roaming over the empty square and the bushes behind.

Unfortunately the light made the darkness around it even deeper so he switched it off very soon and eavesdropped instead. In vain. The half-moon was shining scantily and the entrance of the hotel was still enlightened but he couldn't see anything either.

"Hell! What do you want from me?" he yelled annoyed.

A light was turned on behind one of the windows of the hotel, so Bård just mumbled a little curse and limped back on his socks to the car. Carefully he locked all the doors before he laid back down. It scared him to death to not know who was following him and if that could turn out to be dangerous or rather harmless. He didn't feel safe in this useless tin can at all. He would simply stay awake for the rest of the night, just in case. It was too uncomfortable to find some rest anyway.

Unlike his brother he was fast asleep ten minutes later.


	6. part V

Friday, May 17th, 7:28, outside Seaside Hotel

The morning found Bård frozen to his bones and with aching limbs woken by a loud thunder. It took a minute of complete disorientation before he understood that he had been sleeping in his car and what woke him was the salute from a canon boat out on the fjord.  
Damn it! National day and all its traditions would make things even worse for him! First and foremost he had to take care of not standing out between all those traditionally dressed people,celebrating. It was bad enough with the looks they gave him regularly. Of course he didn't have his bunad with him so at least he had to wear a proper suit… and have a shave, he noticed by taking a look in the rearview mirror. Usually he could skip shaving for a day or two but as there was no chance for a shower or washing his hair, he soon would look like a bushranger. He found himself a dark blue suit that wasn't completely wasted, took his toilet bag and actually managed to sneak into the men's room of the hotel restaurant.  
When he came out after making himself presentable again he directly bumped into an older cleaning maid who stared at him startled.

"Good morning!" he said happily with a wide smile and winked at her.

She blushed slightly and let him pass without any question. Yeah, he had not lost it completely, he was still able to charm people! 

When he passed a trolley with someone's breakfast on it he was tempted to grab a roll from the basket but left it the last moment. Things weren't bad enough to start stealing already. Maybe Vegard could share his breakfast with him. 

 

Friday, May 17th, 8:23. the police station

Svensen made him wait in the guard room for a few minutes since Klingan had just gone into their sleepover guest to serve him breakfast. When he came out he allowed Bård to see his brother for some minutes and left them alone.  
Vegard's sight startled him a little. He looked like a living dead, not only his hair and beard stubble but also the deep shadows underneath his red eyes.

"Hey...you look shitty! Did you cry?"

"Seriously, Bård! When did you see me crying last time?" Vegard rubbed his eyes with both hands. "It's because I didn't sleep." He yawned heavily to underline his statement.

"Yeah, tell me something about uncomfortable nights..." Bård mumbled. "Won't you have breakfast?" he asked peeking at the tray that stood across the tiny sink. 

"I'm not hungry. Help yourself!" Vegard laid down, crawled up and rested his head on the crumbled blanket.

Bård checked out the bowl on the tray but to his displease it contained porridge. For some strange reason he hadn’t been able to tolerate porridge since he was a kid. He prefered staying hungry than fighting a hurting stomach . So he only grabbed the coffee pot, although he couldn't stand coffee either and took a sip of the hot, bitter liquid. 

"What kept you awake?" he asked while slurping a second sip. "Thinking too much again?"

"Mmh...bad dreams." Vegard hummed without opening his eyes.

"Jeez! What kind?"

"Kind of bad!" Vegard replied with a strained voice.

"How about some details? I heard it should help to talk about nightmares" 

Vegard sighed annoyed but then said after a few seconds: "I can see myself killing her."

"You mean like a memory?" Bård put the coffee pot back on the tray and squatted down in front of the bed.

"It's not a memory...I don't stab her." Vegard still didn't seem to be fond of talking, keeping his eyes shut. 

"So what happens?" Bård tried to encourage him.

"It's...the worst part is that I can feel how it felt to kill her. I know I have no proof and I still don't remember but ..." His voice broke and he swallowed before he continued. "Dreams are there to work out your experiences, aren't they? I mean... If that feeling isn't a memory, that rage...! Where  else should it come from? I can..." With a violent grab he pulled out the pillow from behind his back and buried his face under it.

"Vegard?" Bård had his doubts for a moment if the situation actually was as it seemed to be but the irregular twitches shaking the others body left no question.  
His brother was crying.  
He was perplexed. As Vegard said just before - the last time he actually saw him crying was when he was ten and got his thumb caught in the basement door. This was obviously way harder for him than Bård ever thought was possible.

Quickly he decided that there was no room left at that point for acting helpless or awkward. Resolutely he said behind Vegard, lowered his upper body until his cheek rested on his shoulder and began to stroke his arm in a calm, steady pace. Nothing more, just waiting. Vegard still muffled his sobs with the pillow, not moving or saying a thing.  
It took him quite a while. Klingan came in after some minutes, scanned the situation and just raised his hands wordlessly and stepped out backwards again. Bård appreciated very much he let them have a little privacy. Eventually, after what felt an eternity, Vegard seemed to have shed all the tears he had in him as Bård could tell when the warm body under him became still. Vegard moved the pillow a little to make breathing easier.

"What you said before about dreams..." Bård said casually, still keeping his hand on his brother's arm. "... it's not only experiences you’re processing in your dreams. It's fears and wishes and such just as well. Everything that bothers during the day. I read that somewhere in a magazine I think. You should consider reading something else than planes and engines and stuff from time to time. Psychology is way more than just balderdash, you know." 

Vegard lifted the pillow from his face silently and stuffed it under his head instead. He sniffed.

"Its horrible that you have these dreams, must be awful, but they didn't mean anything more than that you're scared." Bard continued in a low voice. "And there's nothing wrong with being scared. I'm scared too!" (wrong form, missing word)OK

If he ever questioned this whole shit the previous night, thought of giving up and calling their manager while he froze his butt off in the car, he now dropped that idea completely. He had to be strong for Vegard's sake, this one time. It had been the other way around far too often! 

"Today we're going to make progress, you'll see. I have my chat with the doctor and he tells me something that takes away all your doubts...like that  she was stabbed by someone left-handed or something."

Vegard hummed as a response.

"Speaking of reading..." Bård lifted himself up and fumbled the pocket of his jacket. "I brought the railway almanac I promised you. Wanna have it?"

"Thank you." Vegard answers barely audibly and press the paperback against his chest. "I'm sorry." he added when Bård stood up from the bed.

"For what? For crying, dumbass?" Bård shook his head, looking down on his brother who was about to rub his swollen face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know what you wanna say! ...Maybe I should try to get some sleep. I'm so tired, I probably never wake up again if I succeed!" 

"Don't you dare!" Bård grinned and was relieved when he got a small grin back in return.  
It was about time for him to become a successful investigator.

 

Friday, may 17th, 10:57, Doctor Sandberg's house

The closer he had gotten to have that significant conversation the more nervous he had become.  
It was so important to deliver Vegard an evidence of his innocence - what if there was none?  
Even worse - what if the doctor held proof that he actually did it?  
That was not quite possible! Bård shoved the thought aside hastily before he used the heavy iron doorknocker.

The doctor opened the door only after a second try and bustled turned to walk down the hall again immediately after greeting him.

"Ah, there you are! Come in, come in - I'm with you in a minute." He gestured Bård to wait in a room to his right and disappeared into another one.

Bård closed the front door behind him and entered the room that turned out to be the doctor's office. He sat down in one of the chairs opposite the desk where patients took place usually and gazed around in the packed room. With all these shelfs full of books and medical equipment it looked as if it had grown to become like that for decades. Probably Doctor Sandberg had kept the interior of his predecessor.

Bård could hear him rushing along the hallway several times, pottering here and there before he eventually came into the office and asked his guest if he could offer him a drink.

"Coffee? Tea?"

"Tea would be nice, thank you!" Bård answered and the doctor disappeared once more to put the kettle on.

"Sooo...here we go!" he said, returning barely a minute later. "I beg your pardon, I'm fairly busy today as you can see!" 

"Yeah, I see...while everyone else is celebrating." Bård replied slightly amused, watching the other man let himself drop into the office chair behind his desk. 

"Those days are the most busy ones for me. There will be a lot of drinking going on today, old folks who overestimate their power, youngsters getting into fights as the night goes on. It seems so peaceful here but those nordmen know how to celebrate. Beside that, it's a pretty welcome way to spend my national day. It's not that easy to become a part of this community. After three years I'm still struggling with acceptance."

"Is that a reason why you are willing to help me?" Bård asked. "I can't tell you how happy I am someone offered me a talk. All voluntarily."

"I am not supposed to do that, though. I never would if we were somewhere else like one of the bigger towns but since things are handled here like they are, all improvised, I felt like you and your brother could need some support in this utterly strange situation."

"And I'm really grateful you're thinking that way. Improvised is an quite exact term of how I would describe the whole situation!" A thought crossed his mind. "For example - where do you keep the body? I was wondering..." The idea of the dead girl lying in the next room gave Bård a shiver and he moved in his chair a bit uncomfortably.

Sandberg noticed it and smiled a little as he answered."We keep her in the refrigerator chamber of the butchery. Improvised."

"That's ... a good place, I think!" Bård made a note in his mind to not eat any meat as long as he stayed in Bjerkvik.

"Well..." Sandberg started, opened a drawer and took out a folder he put on the desk. "... I did not do a proper autopsy. I neither have the equipment nor am I educated to do that."

He opened the dossier.

"Let's put it like this - I don't know anything about your brother, his character or the circumstances that lead to the situation in the backyard. What do you think? Is your brother a murderer?"

"Would you allow yourself to think that about your own brother?" Bård ask with a half- mocking chuckle. "No, I would never believe he was able to do that! No one who knows him would ever even ask! Too bad though he himself assumes he might have done it it. He does not have any memory of the night, I guess it's because of that bulge on his head - he possibly was beaten down. Now he is busy constantly with wondering what he is able to do..." 

"He is ? No memory you say? So then I might have some interesting facts for you."

"That's what I'm hoping for!"

"First of all - yes, your brother was covered with blood and yes, it was her blood only. But there's nothing surprising about it. She died from being stabbed in the neck twice where her carotid was ripped so she lost a big amount of blood, he practically laid in a puddle of it."

Bård almost felt like vomiting again, thinking of the scenery he found at the backyard.

"So now here are the more interesting facts : Her blood contained remains of Pentobarbital which is a very effective sedative."

"Oh! That means ...?" Bard asked strained.

"I would say as long as your brother is no pervert rapist or worse I don't expect him to bring sedatives to a party in order to narcotise random women. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he was affected by the same medicament, that would explain his loss of memory way better than a hit on the head alone. You very seldom suffer amnesia from a hit. More likely it was a combination of both, I guess."

"Then, could you...?" Bård had a hard time staying on his chair. "When you think he also received that sedative, could you check his blood too?"

"I will go and do exactly that, now that I know about his amnesia. I just fear there won't be anything to find after all these hours."

Bård's pulse was racing in excitement. If Vegard's blood was contaminated then that was it! This whole thing would be over! If not - well, then there still was no proof, only them knowing that someone else had drugged the girl. At least it would convince Vegard. Hopefully.

"It's a hope, though." he said with a sigh of relief. "How did they get the stuff, what do you think? Did they drink it?"

"Most likely. I didn't find a puncture on her body." 

"And this Pen... ?"

"Pentobarbital"

"...can everybody have it? Can you buy it in a drugstore or something?  Strange! - I feel like I heard of Pento ..barbital. before but I can’t quite remember where!"

"It is in fact a common sleeping aid, although it usually is prescribed by a doctor because it has some nasty side effects if you overdose it, like nausea, dizziness and headache."

"And how long you have to wait until it works? Did they get it during the party?" Bård felt, he was pretty much tied up by this investigation stuff. 

"Well, judged by the amount I found in Marit's blood, she felt it after minutes, it probably took a quarter of an hour before she became unconscious. Whoever did this, knowingly accepted the possibility she would die from being drugged.”

Slowly Bård realised what that actually meant. Vegard could have been dead. If someone drugged him too, he could had died. His chest clinched at this thought and he rubbed his suddenly moist palms over the trousers of his fine blue suit. 

"Wow... this is ... someone without scruples, I'd say! Are there some more of these useful information  that you have for me?"

Doctor Sandberg raised his eyebrows and let his gaze wander over the facts on the paper in front of him. "I'm sorry. I actually have some more details here that could have an influence on the case but I already take a certain risk telling you about the sedative. As I said, I'm not supposed to give any information and what is written here would now violating my confidentiality as a doctor."

He stroked over the open page of the folder and looked at Bård apologetically. "There's no way I can tell you about that, you may understand."

"It's kind of disappointing but of course I understand your point."

Sandberg pushed his chair back. "I forgot your tea! Hopefully the water isn't completely gone now. I'll be right back,." smiled and left the room, leaving the dossier open on his desk.

Bård was perplexed. Was that an invitation? Was he supposed to get the information he needed on his own? Could he risk a look even if he was wrong? He leaned forward and hastily turned the folder towards him, constantly listening if he heard Sandberg return. Impatiently he rushed through all those medical terms and numbers he struggled to understand anyway, desperately searching for something conspicuous.. 

There it was. He held his breath as he read the line.

She had been pregnant. '...as diagnosed by May, the 2nd 1965.' said the report. So she had known about it and whoever the father was, possibly knew it  too!

Bård turned the folder back into his former position before he sat in his chair again and tried to calm down his heartbeat just in time to hear Sandberg's footsteps in the hallway.

"Here we have your tea, Mr. Ylvisåker." he said as he came in, holding two cups.

Bård stood up. "Please don't mind my rudeness but right now I have a hard time sitting in my chair and drinking tea. I really do appreciate all you’re doing for me and my brother but I am so driven by this worry we wasted precious time in which the drug could dissolve in Vegard's blood entirely!"

Sandberg gave him an emphatic smile. "I understand your concern. I'm gonna take my bag and get this done immediately. But don't forget there isn't much hope that the Pentobarbital is still detectable in his blood, if it ever was there." He went over to the desk, closed the folder and put it back into the drawer he had taken it from.

"Do you want to join me?"

Bård frowned, considering his options quickly. "You won't get any results directly, will you?" he asked.

"No. I have to take the sample back to my laboratory. The results I'll probably have in the afternoon." 

"So then there's nothing I can do there anyway. I think I have some other places to go to first. Would you tell my brother I'm going to see him in a few hours, please?"

"I can do that, it won't take long anyway. The exciting part is the result."  
He smiled. "Can I take you anywhere?"

"Oh, no thank you. I have my bicycle standing outside!"

He was supposed to give that bicycle back to Rikke anytime soon now, he thought when he followed Sandberg out the house. She was his best source to find out about potential fathers of Marit's baby though, so his next course was already set.


	7. part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear bunad-model, who ever you are, sorry for stealing your photo but it was just TOO exactly copying my imagination!

 

Friday, May 17th, 11:44, at Rikke's house

 

 

This time Bård had no trouble finding the familiar square with the benches. When he came near Rikke's house he saw her out in the front yard. She looked pretty in her blue, flower-covered bunad as she stood there, trying to fix the mailbox. It was strange , he thought, how these traditional clothes changed people. She looked older. Or, no, mature! Somehow it already was insulting to call a woman old, even in your thoughts. With a grin he thanked his dad for the lecture. The man knew how to treat women.

"Hey beautiful!" he smiled when he came to hold with screeching brakes in front of the gate.  
She had seen him coming the last meters so she wasn't startled. Now she blushed a little and bit her lips at his compliment.

"I thought it was about time to give your bicycle back." he said and swung his leg over the saddle.

"That's nice...but you can keep it if you still need it!" she replied happily. "How's your investigation going?"

"Great! I just finished my meeting with Doctor Sandberg. I can't thank you enough for recommending me that!"

"Really? Oh, I'm so happy to hear that! What did he say?"

"He said that Marit was drugged when she died and possibly Vegard was too! If that can be revealed when Sandberg takes a sample of his blood, then Vegard is out of trouble! Then we don't have to fear a thing anymore!"

"Oh, wow... that's...fantastic!" Rikke stuttered, obviously a little overwhelmed. "I would be so happy for you... Damn flap!" She gave the mailbox a punch and sighed  exasperated.

Bård leaned the bicycle against the fence and walked to her. "Shall I?"

He opened the box and checked the flap from the inside. "Unfortunately there's not much hope for him to find any traces..." he said while fumbling. "It's too long ago now."

"Oh no! Would have been too good to be true. I keep my fingers crossed, though."

"Here you go!" Bård closed the mailbox and tried the flap a few times.

"Thank you so much, you are my hero!" Rikke beamed at him.

His 'your welcome ' was drowned by a loud grumble. Embarrassed he crossed his open jacket over his belly to dim it.

"Was that your stomach?" she giggled. "Didn't you have breakfast?"

Bård grinned a little strained. "Huh, breakfast... I'm a little short of money, you know?"

The way she looked at him now critically with her head tilted to one side she reminded him of his mother. "I'm going to make you a sandwich." she declared. "Come on in!"

His first impulse was to refuse politely but his potential protest was shushed by a renewed growl from his stomach.All too willingly he followed her into the house.

The hall and the kitchen were narrow, colorful and a little packed, just like an average Norwegian home in this area was supposed to look like. She placed him at a small table in the corner and took a huge knife out of a knife block.

"Don't they serve breakfast at this fancy hotel?" she asked casually. "One should think they do."

"Yeah..." Awkwardly Bård draw the texture of the wooden table with his fingertip. "As I said... I have money issues."

Rikke stopped in her movement. "What are you trying to say? You don't have a hotel room?" She stared at him in disbelief when he grimaced. "Where did you sleep last night?"

"In my car..."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Not at all! This week's lesson - how to go from a revue star to a tramp in twenty-four hours..."

"But you are still the same man, aren't you?" she asked in a serious tone. "Just a bit out of luck..." Resolutely she began to cut down two big slices of bread.

Bård only nodded thoughtfully while he watched her preparing the sandwich. " Actually I think this thing has already changed me a little." he said after a moment. "Until now it wasn't exactly my strong suit to keep track on difficult tasks."

"Yeah..." she said a little absentmindedly "...there probably is always something good to find in every situation. For example I have you sitting here in my kitchen. I don't dare to remember the price of it, though..."

"Oh, right...I'm sorry! I almost forgot that you lost your friend, being so busy with all of my drama. That obviously hasn't changed so much - that's how I always am." He frowned apologetically.

"Never mind." Rikke told him silently and placed the finished sandwich and an apple in front of him. "Just tell me if there's anything I can do to support you, beside feeding you. That would help a lot."

"Oh yeah, actually I planned to ask you a few things, I just want to..." He lifted the sandwich for an explanation before he took a big bite.

"No hurry!" she grinned. "Have your lunch first!" She filled a glass with water and put it on the table next to his plate.

Satisfied Bård chewed his snack, all caught up in eating when a sudden outburst of him made Rikke look up surprised.

"Christian!"

"What?" she asked confused.

"I knew I know the name!"

" Yeah, why not?" Rikke chuckled."It’s a pretty common name!"

Bård laid down the rest of his sandwich. "No, I mean Pentobarbital! The name of the drug Sandberg found in Marits blood."

He registered how her eyes widened when she heard the name but she kept quiet, only listened, frowning while he explained.

"I suddenly remember why it sounded so familiar to me. I had a friend in high school, Christian. He suffered from epilepsy and he always had a dose of Pentobarbital with him. In case he got an attack we had to inject it into his arm. Thankfully I never had to do that."

Thoughtfully Rikke bit her cheek, staring at his unfinished sandwich. "Ok... Marit's mother has epilepsy." she said soberly.

"Her mother? Well, that doesn't has to mean a thing but I think I now finally should visit her family and get an impression of how she lived."

"Hm, would you like me to introduce you ? I could do that if you want me to."

"Perfect!" Bård munched as he shoved the rest of the bread in his mouth.

Rikke seemed to ponder for a moment before she spoke up again. "There's something else. Actually I know Pentobarbital too."

Bård raised his eyebrows questioningly while flushing the last bite down with some water.

She leaned back in her chair and smoothed the skirt of her bunad. "I work for our veterinarian, just finished my education. He uses Pento to euthanize pets."

"Ha!" Bård burst out " Your boss did it! We got it, case closed!" He clapped his hands and pretended to get up from the table.

Rikke's facial expression turned sour for the first time since he had met her. "Sure. Why not me?"

"I'm sorry!" Bård said quietly. "I didn't mean to insult someone you like. But we have to face it - someone actually must have done it and the only thing I know for sure is that it wasn't Vegard. You still agree?"

"Hmm." She didn't look up.

"Apple?" he offered her the fruit on his open palm.

A small grin returned to the corner of her mouth "That's yours. You're supposed to eat it yourself."

He shrugged and stuffed the apple into the pocket of his jacket. Really bad timing that he made her upset when he still had some bad news waiting for her. Bård thought hard about how to bring up the topic elegantly.

"I don't like the way you’re looking at me!" Rikke stated when she recognised his stare.

"Yeah. There's something more you have to learn about your friend. Something I found out at the doctor's. It's what I wanted to ask you about."

"I like it less and less." Rikke murmured. She stood up and took the empty plate and the glass to put them into the sink.

Bård sighed. No other way to put it. "She was pregnant."

Rikke almost dropped the glass. At the last second she caught it at its edge before it could crash into the sink.

"What?" She turned around to him and wrapped her arms around her chest as if to protect herself.

"Yeah, and she knew about it...but you didn't, obviously."

"I had no idea." she said tonelessly, staring down on the now empty table.

After he let a moment pass to allow her to collect herself, Bård cleared his throat. "I ... I wanted to ask you if you have any idea who may have been the father..." he said hesitantly.

"Well, I think it's Anders. She had a boyfriend, you know."

That surprised him actually. "Anders, ok... How serious was it? Would you think she had told him about the baby?"

"No idea..." Rikke seemed like to come back down from her trail of thoughts "That's something we should be able to find out pretty easy. He probably is at the feast now. We could go there together and I show you who he is. Maybe we can make him talk about it."

"You would do that for me?" Bård smiled at her widely "I hardly dared to ask!"

"Actually I feel much more comfortable doing this than facing Marit's parents today. Maybe we can wait until tomorrow before we bother them?"

Bård reached out and laid his hand on her forearm. "Hey. Whatever you think is best! I mean I wouldn't get done any of this if you didn't help me."

She smiled mischievously. "We should go by bike, don't you think? You can carry me on the rack!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...short one. Sorry that updating is somewhat slower atm. Blame Christmas!


	8. part VII

Friday, May 17th, 12:40, Bjerkvik community centre

 

The open space outside the community centre where the main national day celebration took place was almost not recognizable to him, although it was the location they had presented their show only two days earlier... or maybe it was that this made it even more surrealistic. The big wooden building was wide open to invite people to sit and have something to eat and drink, inside as well as outside; a four-member band was playing folksongs on the porch of the house, encouraging a few couples to dance. The main change was certainly the huge amount of people floating around in their traditional clothes. At least 500 of Bjerkvik's 800 residents seemed to have got together; the dominance of blue and black of their bunads showed only too well that this was a place of traditions. Barely anyone had ever moved from here or married someone from a town further away...  
Well, everybody knew everyone, which had its pros and cons, Bård thought as they moved through the crowd. Rikke scanned the tables carefully to spot Marit's boyfriend, but was constantly distracted due to the fact that every other person they passed was eager to share a few words with her. Bård felt quite uncomfortable following her like a doggie while catching side-glances or was eyed openly in some cases. He could easily tell who recognized him and who didn't. He caused a lot of whispers wherever he passed.

"Mr. Ylvisåker!" he was taken by surprise when a hoarse voice called his name. He turned around to check who finally dared to address to him openly. The tall man with the neatly trimmed grey beard who had just stood up from the next table was none other than Smalstrøm, the mayor, who had not only booked the brothers' show, but had also organized that fateful party for them.

"Good day to you, sir!" Bård replied and shook the hand the man offered him. "Nice to meet you again!"

"I'm surprised to find you here, actually. I thought you had left yesterday. I was trying to contact you at the hotel but you had checked out already."

"Yeah, I... made different arrangements."

"However, I meant to express my regret about what had happened. I assure you we won't reproach you for what your brother committed affect based, probably while drunk. It must be hard enough for you as it is!"

A sour taste crawled up on Bård's tongue. He clenched his jaw and looked down at his shoes. "Excuse me, but you must understand that I have my doubts that my brother actually killed another human being."

"Well, of course. I would not know what to think either if I were in your shoes. But _you_ must understand that the girl that has been killed was working for me. This is a small community, Mr. Ylvisåker!"

"Yeah, I know. Rikke told me..." Bård mumbled. Rikke, standing next to him, grabbed his arm and squeezed it briefly. Smalstrøm viewed her critically before they nodded to each other for a greeting.

"Everything will be sorted out on Monday when the criminal police will start their investigation!" Smalstrøm's wife raised her voice. Bård had met her before and gave a polite smile when he recognized her. She had been sitting next to her husband and now she reached out for his arm as well to make him sit down again.

"Sure, sure... " Smalstrøm patted her shoulder before he turned back to the two young people standing in front of him.

"Never mind, sir!" he said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you!" 

For half a second Bård was tempted to ask him for money, but his pride held him back immediately. There was something so unpleasant about this man, his eyes weren't telling the same things his mouth did – he would rather die in his car than ask this guy for a favor!

"I appreciate that, Mr. Smalstrøm , thank you. Have a nice day, though.  
M'am!" he bowed towards Mrs. Smalstrøm before he turned around and made Rikke walk by shoving her forward.

"Don't let him get you with his stupid comments!" she hissed when they had walked a few meters further. "He's a manipulative bastard, his word means nothing!"

With an impressed grin Bård stared at the back of her head as she was making her way through the crowd one step ahead of him. She didn't seem to have too many nice words left for her fellow locals , as he had already noticed before.

When they had passed the dance floor, they were stopped once more by someone calling out for them.

"Henrikke, girl - there you are!"

Rikke turned her head to face the little old man that was heading towards them. A wide smile lit up her face as she stopped and waited for him to reach them. This man obviously wasn't one of her most hated neighbours.

"How are you, my dear?" he asked and hugged her.

She wrapped her arms around the small man and squeezed him tight. He would have made a decent Santa if he hadn´t been so short.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she answered, smiling down at him. "I try not to think too much about it!"

"I cannot believe what happened! How can someone do something so awful to a young girl!"

Rikke bit her lips and looked away. "Really, I can't...I don't wanna talk about it, okay ...?"

"That's just fine, girl!" he muttered.

After a moment she took a deep breath and addressed Bård with a forced smile.

"Oh, I forgot... Bård, this is Doctor Petersen, our veterinarian, my boss. Uncle Hallvard, this is Bård Ylvisåker. He is, you know..." Her voice cracked a little and she ended with a husk.  
   
"Yeah, of course I know." the old man said calmly and offered Bård his hand for a firm handshake.

"Don't worry, young man," he hummed when he noticed the hesitation in Bård's gaze, caused by his former experience. "If there's one thing my life and job have taught me, it is that things rarely are what they seem to be at first sight."

"Yeah," Bård answered with a sad grin, “that's the only hope that keeps me going! I'm very grateful that Rikke helps me a little to find out what really happened that night. I mean, I could wait for the police, but sitting on my hands is not quite my thing."

"That's good...good!" the old man nodded. "The best thing you can do is distract yourself, both of you. Keep your thoughts straight and your hands busy - that's how we did it back then, every time they had dropped bombs down on our homes again."

Bård agreed internally. He had spent the years of his childhood in Africa due to the fact that his father had taken the chance to help to build a dam and so kept his family away from the horror of war. But he imagined war to be like having your world shattered and that was exactly how he was feeling at that moment. So, yeah, that old man knew what he was talking about!  
Wow, Vegard would have called him a drama queen if he could read his mind, he realized, not very amused...

"We are looking for Anders actually," Rikke just said when his thoughts got back to reality. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

Petersen scratched his head and looked around a bit helplessly. "Anders? No, I don't think so. I saw a lot of people today though...but I would remember Anders! I would have talked to him and asked him how he was doing."

"Never mind, uncle Hallvard. I will find him!"

Rikke smiled lovingly when the little old man grabbed her hands and pressed them briefly against his cheek. "Good luck, girl, whatever your plans are! Make the best of the situation!"

"Thank you!" she replied silently, waving at him with a small gesture.

"I think I´ll get myself a beer..." Petersen murmured with a last sigh and headed slowly towards the community building.

"Okay, I got it!" Bård told Rikke's back as she was shoving herself through the crowd, looking for Anders again.

"What?" she asked without turning.

"Why you got upset when I joked about Petersen being the killer. Is he actually your uncle?"

"No." She stopped for a moment to look at him. "It's sort of a respect thing. He is like a grandfather to me. I don't have anyone apart from my mom, so he is actually family, you can say."

She rammed her fists on her hips and let her gaze roam the place.

"I'm sorry. I have to admit he's one of the most pleasant people I´ve ever met...and he's too old and too small to do it anyway so I'll cross him off my list!" Bård joked instead of a proper apology. Rikke rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on his shoulder. Then she threw her hands up in the air.

"Heavens! Where on earth is that guy? Sorry, I don't think we'll find him here!"

"Okay, then, where do you think he could be? At home?"

"Possibly. Or at one of his friends' houses! There are dozens of possibilities. I don't know!" She sighed. "You know what? I'm gonna get ourselves something for lunch from the grill, so we are prepared. This is gonna be a long day!"

"No! No, I can't let you take care of my food again! I'm not hungry anymore anyway..."  
"Seriously?" she glanced at him slightly annoyed but with a grin. "Do we have to discuss this every time now I'll help you out? If it makes you feel better, you can... There!"

With narrowed eyes she stopped and gazed over Bård's right shoulder at a group of tables at the outer edge of the area.

"Hmm?" Bård turned his head.

"Over there, far left table."

She took him by his sleeve and dragged him with her. At the mentioned table there was a broad-shouldered young man sitting, his head lying on the table, arms wrapped around a big jar of beer. His whole appearance was screaming 'drunk'.

When Rikke reached him, she grabbed his arm and shook him not quite carefully.  
"Anders! Hey, Anders - wake up!"

He raised his head and glared at her with glassy eyes. "Oh, it's you! What do you want from me?"

"Get a grip, we need to talk to you!"

Irritated he stared from her at Bård and back again. "Why the heck are you yelling at me like that? I'm not deaf!"

"Because you're drunk, Anders, that's why!"

"Screw it! I have all the right to get drunk! My fucking girlfriend has just been murdered!" he hissed and rudely freed his arm from Rikke's hand.

"Hey! Watch your mouth, man! She was her friend too!" Bård cut in on him and placed himself next to Rikke for her support.

"Fuck off!" Anders mumbled and took a gulp of his beer. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I am...we're here to find out what happened to Marit. Can't we talk about it properly?"

"I can tell you what happened to Marit! She's been killed by one of these damn variety bastards from Oslo. Stabbed like a pig!"

Bård shoved his hands in his pockets and exhaled slowly not to lose his temper. After all, this man was drunk and going through some serious shit.

"Yeah, well this variety bastard happens to be my brother, so if you allow me, I will try to prove his innocence!"

"I couldn't care less, man!" Anders glared at him and frowned furiously. "Go fuck yourself , you bloody beatnik!"

"Beatnik?" Bård was disgusted by the beer reeking breath of the younger man and utterly annoyed by his constant swearing. "You call me a beatnik? Do you have the slightest idea what a beatnik actually is?" he hissed, swallowing the insults about being a stupid hillbilly he had on the tip of his tongue.  
"Don't!" Rikke stopped him and shoved him a few steps away from the table. "Let me handle this, okay?" She furrowed her eyebrows and pressed his arm firmly to make sure he would back away.

She rushed back to Anders, who had lifted his plastered body from the bench and was obviously up to getting into a fight. Brilliant! Bård was mad at himself. What kind of a stupid statement had that been? Do you even know what a beatnik is? Was he slowly turning into Vegard now, making such unnecessary comments? Jesus! Hopefully Rikke was able to sort things out for him. At least she had already made Anders sit down again. Wrapping her heavy skirt around her legs, she sat down opposite him.

"Hey, Anders, calm down! I know how you're feeling!"

"You fucking don't know anything! Nothing you know..." he grumbled and made an effort to finish his beer.

"Oh, but it seems to me you obviously know! Did she tell you...?"

"What about?"

"About the..." Rikke hesitated to finish the sentence. Bård could feel her. If she was wrong and he didn't know, everything would become much worse!

"About the baby? Yeah, you can bet she told me!"

Rikke reached across the table to lay her hand on his arm compassionately. "I'm so sorry, Anders!  
I only found out today, otherwise I would have kept her from going to that party in the first place! Oh, if only!" She sighed. "I can't even imagine what you're going through now!"

"Yeah, what am I going through?" Anders said with a sarcastic grin. "Maybe she just got what she deserved, who knows?"

Both Bård and Rikke raised their eyebrows in unison, surprised when they heard him saying that.

"Do you know what else she told me? I was not the father!"

"She...what?" Rikke threw an irritated glance back at Bård, obviously not sure how to take that.

"Yeah...she came to me last weekend, told me she was pregnant, but it was not my baby, asking me in all seriousness if I could lend her some money so she could go to Bodø and have an abortion! Imagine this, you best friend!"

Bård couldn't keep himself from getting closer anymore. "Ask who!" he whispered silently to Rikke when Anders was busy exploring the bottom of his jar. Rikke nodded quickly.

"But... did she...did she say who the father had been?"

"I don't have the slightest idea! At least she was smart enough not to tell me. I think she didn't want me to pay him a visit! ...I bet it was this bastard who killed her!" he added with a sepulchral voice.

"Ah, nonsense, Anders! They only came here three days ago!" Rikke rushed to say before Bård could complain about the stupidity of that statement.

"You can never know! No one could ever know with her..."

"Okay we're leaving you now. Don't get too drunk, you hear me?"

Rikke stood up.

"Mind your own business!" Anders mumbled dismissively. "And you!" he raised his voice, pointing at Bård with an unsteady index finger "You better never cross my way again!"

Bård raised his hands defensively and stepped backwards away from the table before he turned around to find a silent spot where he could sort out his thoughts. Rikke followed him right after.  
Eventually they found a calm place, a stack of wood lying along the wall of a storage building, which they could sit on with not too many people being around.

"Wow, that was a bummer!" Bård said stunned and loosened his tie a bit.

"To put it mildly...!" Rikke looked somewhat pale around her nose.

"Do you have a second guess about the father of the baby?"

"No." Rikke bit her thumbnail, her gaze roaming the crowd at the tables. He was not sure if she was actually telling the truth. "I can't tell you ..." She clenched her fists on her lap. "I really don't know how to handle this! It's so frustrating to find out how much there was she didn't tell me!"

Bård poked Rikke's leg with his knee and gave her a little smile when she looked up.

"It's okay," she said. "Being angry works way better than being sad! Hurts less!"

"Fine," he shrugged. "Talking about being angry - what do we have there with Anders? What did you think when he said she deserved what she got?"

"Oh yeah, that was intense, wasn't it?" Rikke turned to him excited. "He has a lot of rage in him, he always had!"

"And... to me that is a hint he could have done it! Don't you think?"

"Well, he's a bully, that's for sure. And I cannot exclude that he would be able to kill someone if he's mad enough. But ... if it is true that she has been drugged, I don't know if that's something he would have done. I mean, he's smart enough, smarter than he seems to be just now when he is drunk, but..." She made a doubtful face and shrugged.

"Okay, I get what you mean. He would rather have stabbed her during a fight. But if you say he was able to do it and since his motive is strong enough he is clearly up on my list!"

Bård was pretty satisfied with what he found out that day and the day was not even half way over! Not that he had found out the truth, but at least he was a few steps closer.

Rikke nodded approvingly. "We should definitely keep an eye on him!"

It put a little smile on his face how automatically she said 'we' instead of 'you'. He obviously had gotten himself an assistant. And he was grateful for the company.

She stood up. "So now, whether you agree or not, I'm really up for some lunch. I'll go and get something for us. You stay here, okay?"

"Yes M'am! I'll save us a seat at one of the tables there!" he grinned and lifted himself up from the jolts as well. He watched her leaving and rubbed his palms over his butt to dust off his dark trousers before he looked around for a free spot at a table.

Suddenly something caught Bård's attention. There, about thirty meters ahead of him he saw Doctor Sandberg crossing the place with fast steps. So he was obviously done with Vegard! He called out to him, but the place was too noisy and his voice could not get through to the man hurrying out. Bård was eager to hear how things had been at the police station, so he made a quick decision to to run after him.

He saw Sandberg disappear around the corner of the storage building. Hopefully he wouldn't be too far down the street by the time Bård got there. When he reached the street, he could see that Sandberg hadn't gone very far; he was standing just ten meters away in the shadow of the building. But he was not alone. Bård froze in his movement. The man standing there with Sandberg was none other than Smalstrøm! What were they doing there?  
Irritated Bård watched Sandberg hand the mayor a small white paper bag, which the latter rolled up quickly and placed in his pocket. In return he took out a slim envelope and gave it to Sandberg. If this had been a movie, Bård could have told easily that it contained money but in reality he just didn't know because the doctor didn't open it but stuffed it into his jacket.  
Sandberg exchanged a few words with the mayor but Bård was too far away to understand anything. The two men shook hands and then Sandberg rushed back to his car that was parked down the street.

Bård backed away into the crowd behind him before Smalstrøm would recognize him.

That was strange really! What had he just witnessed? Maybe it had been harmless, but then again , why had they met so secretly?

Bård decided to add two men more to his list. For no reason really, just because of his gut feeling.


End file.
